ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Don’t be surprised if Josh Beckett walks to the mound tonight with hunched shoulders.

It won’t be due to a right oblique muscle problem – but because he’ll be carrying the weight of a franchise and all of New England on his broad frame.

After coming from seven runs down to win Game 5, 8-7, in the bottom of the ninth Thursday night in Fenway Park to shave the Rays’ lead in the best-of-seven series to 3-2, many believe if the Red Sox win Game 6 tonight they are a lock to win Game 7 tomorrow evening behind ace Jon Lester against Matt Garza.

“We need him to be great to win,” second baseman Dustin Pedroia said of Beckett tonight at Tropicana Field. “We are facing a guy with great stuff who is better at home.”

That would be James Shields, the Rays’ best pitcher, 14-8 with a 3.56 ERA during the regular season, and whose 9-2 record and 2.59 ERA in 17 home games moved manager Joe Maddon to save the right-hander for Game 6 tonight and use left Scott Kazmir in Game 5.

With six shutout innings, Kazmir made the decision look good. But relievers Grant Balfour, Dan Wheeler and J.P. Howell, with help from Evan Longoria’s throwing error, flushed a 7-0 lead in the seventh and gave life to the Red Sox.

Even though the Rays need to win one of two games to face the Phillies in the World Series and the Red Sox require two, the feeling is the pressure is on the upstart Rays. Especially when you figure in the Red Sox coming back against the Yankees in 2004 being down, 3-0, and the Indians last year after being behind, 3-1.

“My experience with our group is that we’ve been very resilient all year,” Maddon said. “I like the way our guys are going about this process right now.”

Will it be enough to beat Beckett, who is obviously hindered by an oblique problem he refuses to acknowledge? Certainly, the 28-year-old right-hander has struggled in October, a month in which he was 6-2 in 10 career starts and 3-0 in five LCS tilts before this postseason.

Still, the Red Sox believe they have the best man to get them even going tonight.

“That’s the biggest compliment you can get,” Beckett said of his teammates’ confidence in him. “I don’t think it matters what everybody else thinks.”

Yet, the numbers don’t fib. In two postseason starts, Beckett doesn’t have a decision, sports an obese 11.57 ERA and has given up 18 hits in 91/3 innings. The Rays are raking at a .400 clip against him. He was especially dreadful in Game 2 when he gave up eight runs and nine hits (three homers) in 41/3 innings.

“He is not going to forget how to compete,” Terry Francona said of Beckett, whom the manager admits has been banged up during the season.

“So even if he’s going out there with maybe close to what … maybe it’s not 96 [mph], maybe it’s 92 or 93, but he is still Beckett, and that doesn’t mean he can’t win. That doesn’t mean he can’t dominate. But their guy is good, too. This is set up to be exciting. That’s the way it is supposed to be.”